


"I guess a part of me is still hurting"

by buggiesreign



Series: Missing Moments [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Hurt/Comfort, Missing Moments, bughead - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:28:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25134661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buggiesreign/pseuds/buggiesreign
Summary: Betty finds out about Jughead being homeless and asks him about it, making Jughead tell her the story of how it came to be, as well as his thoughts and feelings...
Relationships: Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Series: Missing Moments [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1820638
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	"I guess a part of me is still hurting"

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, first of all this was inspired by conversations with ms ellie  
> therefore it is dted to ms ellie and bughead nation  
> huge thank you to aubrey, who offered to be my beta ily
> 
> (also fyi, i'm starting a series called 'missing moments' of bughead and this is part 1)

Jughead was sitting at a booth in Pop’s, the light of his laptop illuminating his face, as he stared back at the device, the empty word document almost mocking him. This is what writers block felt like. He had experience it before, but not as intense. It was almost like his mind wouldn’t want to focus, no matter how hard he tried to do so. He wanted to write, he simply couldn’t.

He didn’t necessarily blame himself however, considering his life was a bit of a mess at this current moment. A serial killer was roaming the streets of Riverdale, Betty was dealing with her creepy brother and had many sleepless nights, which she hadn’t told Jughead about yet, but he could tell, by how tired she was at school, and on top of everything his dad was going through a lot of hardships too, as well as his friends. It was safe to say his life wasn’t anywhere near stress-free.

Jughead sighed in relief when the silence was disturbed, by the sound of his phone going off at an incoming call. He was grateful for the distraction it brought. He pulled the device out of his pocket and smiled when he saw who the caller was, even though he was a little confused as well, as it had been quite late. Worry rose in him, as he picked up the phone, a soft “Hello” leaving his lips.

“Hey, Juggie,” Betty greeted and his worry immediately lessened at her cheery tone, knowing if something had been wrong she wouldn’t sound as calm and collected. He leaned back in his seat, looking up at Pop for a moment, who understood that the gesture meant that Jughead was in need of a refill, which Pop delivered immediately.

“What’s up, Betty? How can I be of service?” he asked, adding dramatic flair to the second sentence he spoke, earning him a giggle from the blonde on the other end of the line. He couldn’t help the smile that spread on his face at the sound, as he lifted his cup of coffee and took a sip from it.

“I know this is on really short notice, but do you think you’re able to come over tonight? I really miss you and there is something I want to talk to you about,” Betty explained and though her tone was still cheery, as per usual, he could hear the seriousness in it as well. He knew whatever Betty wanted to talk about was important, but not worrisome. 

A sort of feeling of pride coursed through him at the realization of how well he knew the blonde. He always had a strong connection to Betty and could sense when things were off, but it only grew stronger with time and these days they were able to communicate without even speaking to one another and just through looks.

“Of course. I’ll be over in 10,” he replied, closing his laptop, the phone held between his cheek and shoulder. Jughead put the laptop back in his bag and finished his coffee, which didn’t take long, considering two gulps of his usually did the trick, before he put $10 on the table, paying for said coffee and the ones he drank before.

“Great, I’ll see you in 10,” the blonde said, the smile clear in her voice, before she hung up the phone and Jughead got up from his seat and smiled slightly at Pop. “Thanks for the coffee Pop. Much appreciated. I’ll see you again tomorrow.”

Jughead left the diner and made his way to Bettys house, which he knew wouldn’t take long, as it was basically around the corner. His thoughts for once didn’t seem as loud as they had been the past few weeks, as his mind focused on seeing his girlfriend in a few minutes. Betty had this rare ability of calming him, just by being near him and he appreciated it immensely.

He reached Bettys street a couple of minutes later, walking past all the other houses, including the one belonging to his best friend in which he lived for a short period of time himself. Once he saw the familiar red door, he turned onto the walk leading up to it, not needing to knock, as the door opened and he was met with a beautiful bright smile, as he walked closer. 

“Wow, you must’ve really missed me, if you wait behind the door for my arrival,” he joked and Betty giggled softly, stepping out of the house and taking his hand in hers, while planting a soft peck on his lips. Jughead grinned at her in response and let Betty pull him inside. “Well, I did.”

Jughead took his shoes off, once inside, not wanting to trigger the wrath of Alice Cooper and looked around the living room area. “She isn’t home, Jug,” Betty said, knowing he was making sure if Alice was in fact home or not. Betty was still holding onto his hand and led him upstairs and into her room, sitting down on her bed and waiting for Jughead to do the same.

Jughead closed the door to Bettys room and made his way to sit down beside her, wondering what it had been that Betty wanted to talk about. It seemed important and urgent, yet not urgent enough to immediately say what it was, as she waited to start a conversation, until they were upstairs and in the comfort of her room.

“So, you wanted to talk?” he asked, deciding to be straight forward about it, as his curiosity about the subject grew. He looked over at Betty and saw her nod, as she pulled up her feet and got into a comfortable seating position on the bed. 

“Yes, I do. But the truth is, as confident as I was, when I called, I’m not sure how to start this conversation,” she admitted and Jughead found himself frowning slightly at her confession. They had been doing good lately, with open communication and he couldn’t help but wonder what would worry her enough to be scared to speak on it.

“You can just say it. You know I won’t judge,” he reminded her and Betty smiled slightly at him, nodding softly and Jughead felt his body relax slightly. “I know, Juggie. You know I’d never judge you for anything either. Which is why I was wondering why you never told me about being homeless for a while,” she confessed, making Jughead swallow hard.

“Wh- What?” he choked out, confused as to how she even found out and as to why she brought it up right now. Yes, he had been homeless for a while, at the beginning of the school year, but that was past him now. He was living at home again and he wasn’t thinking of leaving there again any time soon.

“Uhm, my mom told me about it today. Or rather asked about it and was pretty surprised when I told her I didn’t know you had been homeless and frankly I was a bit surprised too. I’m not blaming you or judging, I just wanted to know if there was a reason you didn’t tell me,” Betty told him and Jughead nodded in understanding, wondering how Alice even knew about this. 

“Not many people know. How does your mom know about it?” he asked, unable to help himself, knowing he wasn’t answering what she was asking about, but first needing answers himself.

“I don’t know, sorry. She only asked me, because she thought I might know why you didn’t live at home at the time. But she never told me where she had the information from. It is true, right?” she questioned, wanting to make sure and Jughead took a deep breath, nodding at her.

“Yes, it is true. I chose to live away from the trailer for a while, at the beginning of the school year.” Betty frowned when she heard his confession and took his hand in hers again, knowing there was a story there and knowing it might take a while until he was ready to tell it, but she asked anyway, taking her chances. “Why?”

Jughead was quiet for a while, intertwining his fingers with Bettys and she squeezed his hand gently, as he undoubtedly gathered his thoughts and deciding on how to tell her this story.

“Things at home … weren’t great at the time. Truth be told they hadn’t been in a long time, when I decided to move out. My dads drinking had recently gotten worse and so did his behavior. He would yell more often, and he got more aggressive, when he was in that state. Not to mention the trailer reeked of alcohol a lot of the time.”

“I just couldn’t do it any longer. I had to get out. I needed a break,” he said, his voice beginning to sound a little more panicked and his words rushed. Betty immediately shifted, moving closer to him and wrapping an arm around him, Jughead taking a deep, slow breath as he felt her close to him, once again reminded of the calming effect she had on him.

“I also thought, maybe me leaving would be a wake up call for him, to stop and change. At first, I stayed at the drive-in. I had the keys obviously, as I was working there and taking care of the little building and honestly, in a way it had everything I needed. A bed, a small stove, a washroom. It wasn’t all bad … but it also felt like something was missing.”

“It didn’t feel like home,” Betty suggested softly and Jughead nodded, knowing what was missing was in fact feeling like that place was his home, but he also didn’t want to complain too much, as he had had everything he needed to live.

“After the drive-in closed down, my dad came to see me and I thought maybe this was it. Maybe this was the moment when he’d tell me he realized his mistakes and that he wanted to change,” he continued, his voice sounding more broken this time and Betty wrapped her other arm around him as well, trying to reassure him, to show him that it was okay to be vulnerable. 

“He didn’t change. He just asked what I was thinking of doing next and honestly, I had absolutely no idea. I didn’t tell him that, I told him I would be fine, but I thought I was really screwed for a few hours. But after a bit of thinking, I came up with a solution and brought my blankets and little stove to the janitors closet, under the stairs at school.”

“Juggie..” Betty whispered, pulling her head back a bit, to look at him, his expression that of a broken boy. She knew there was more and she knew there was a lot of emotion beneath his exterior, that needed to be let out and she was damned if she wasn’t by his side and listening to all of it. Betty placed her hand on the back of his neck, laying her head down on his shoulder, as he continued.

“It wasn’t as bad as it sounds, I guess. It was warm and I didn’t have long to school,” he chuckled, but it had a sad undertone and Betty placed her free hand on top of his. “Actually, it wasn’t warm. Physically it may have been … but I felt so cold most nights. I felt alone. Like I said, I always felt like something was missing. I wanted a family, like everyone around me had.”

“Obviously, I know that even if you have families close by, that doesn’t always mean you actually feel like you have family, but … I couldn’t help but envy people like you and Archie. Speaking of, he found out about my situation, when he found me at school one day. I was showering and he just showed up there, as well.”

“What did he do?” Betty asked, her voice soft, but clear. Jughead turned his hand over, placing his palm against Bettys and intertwining their fingers. He smiled softly at their conjoined hands. 

“He invited me to stay with him and I did. Actually, it was the day after our first kiss. Looks like my life really got better after that decision,” he explained, Betty squeezing his hand softly. Jughead lifted his hand again, turning it slightly to look at her, Betty lifting her head as well.

“Did that help? Staying at Archies? I can imagine it being better, but it still technically wasn’t what you searched for,” she said, choosing her words carefully and Jughead frowned, nodding. “I still missed my own family caring. It changed after a while and I do feel like I have what I searched for then. I feel better.”

“I don’t blame my dad anymore, but I guess a part of me is still hurting. Or something like that. Uhm, can we talk about something else? I appreciate you listening, but I just need to think of something else now,” he said and smiled slightly at her, his voice sounding a bit less broken now.

“Of course,” she nodded, “but just know you never have to go through that again. I know I’m not your father, but you have a place that you can go to, if you ever need it. And I will always be there, when you need me. I love you, Jug.”

“And I love you. And the feeling is very mutual. I’ll always be by your side,” he replied, Betty smiling softly at him and scooting back a bit, laying down on the bed. “Come here,” she whispered opening her arms and Jughead laid down beside her, letting her wrap his arms around him.

Betty looked at him softly, leaning in and pressing her lips to his forehead softly, lingering for a moment, as Jughead closed his eyes. “You are family to me, Betty,” he whispered, as she pulled back slowly, both of them feeling a tear roll down their cheek. Jughead lifted his hand, wiping her tear away, before regarding his own.

“Than as long as I live you will always have family. And I feel the same way,” she nodded, as they entangled their legs with one another, their bodies close together and their arms wrapped around one another.

After saying their goodnights and I love yous once again, they both closed their eyes, falling asleep almost immediately, a smile on both of their faces. They both knew that the words they promised each other were true. As long as they lived, they always had a place to call home.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading, i hope you enjoyed  
> & leave feedback please mwah


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